


In the Midnight Hour

by skzyeol



Category: Alternate Universe - Fandom, Stray Kids (Band), Supernatural, not the main point of the fic tho
Genre: M/M, Other, based IN the supernatural world but not related to the actual story at all, complete skz spn au, with some actual lore thrown in for funsies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2020-11-01 22:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20529758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skzyeol/pseuds/skzyeol
Summary: Eight months ago, Jisung's entire life was turned upside down when a Demon caused the destruction of his family. He became a Hunter to avenge them. Changbin was raised into the life when a Vampire killed his mother. When the two meet, it dominoes a chain of events that's sure to shape the rest of the world.basically binsung hunter au where jisung gets his ass saved by changbin. changbin doesn't do partners, but jisung gets attached to him anyways. chaos ensues.





	1. Immortal

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to the few people in my little circle that have been encouraging me to actually write this story and another set of thanks to the couple of people i asked to read through parts of the first chapter to make sure i didn't sound like a complete idiot.
> 
> the inspiration for this fic came from a binsung fanart that @kittyhyukie on twitter did, they also encouraged me to write this fic so go give them lots of love~
> 
> and a special happy birthday to the biggest jisung supremacist i know, hikari. i hope you love my jisung as much as the real one. <3

_Woojin said it was a good idea for me to keep a journal, to kind of document all the monsters I’ve run into. He says it’s how Hunter’s compile all their information on monsters, other than reading all those old books in the weird languages. So, this is pretty much the lamest intro to a journal ever. _

_My name’s Jisung. Oh, shit, am I not supposed to say my name in this? I don’t know much about the rules of being a Hunter yet, I’m still pretty new to it all. You see, up until about eight months ago I was just a regular kid. I woke up every morning for school, played sports with my older brother after classes, complained about tests and homework. I wasn’t the type of kid that was easily scared by anything either, I pretty much ran into everything straight on, headfirst. It got me into a lot of trouble… suppose it still does, but it wasn’t so costing back then. Eight months ago my entire life changed because eight months ago was when a Demon possessed my Dad and had him slaughter my mom and brother. I barely even remember it all, I blacked out after I ran towards the stairs and tripped… the doctor said I sustained massive head injuries, so they didn’t believe me when I said my dad’s eyes were black the entire time. _

_Obviously, I didn’t know it had been a Demon back then, I thought my dad had just gone crazy and murdered my entire family for no reason, but it got me curious enough to read. That was how I met Seungmin. He found me asking about Demon’s on some chatforms and basically agreed to meet up with me to confirm whether or not my dad actually had been possessed. I know what you’re thinking: meeting up with a strange guy from the spooky side of the internet? But he was totally the real deal! Unlike everyone else, he actually believed me about my dad. He said the same thing happened to his sister when he was 12. Well, not exactly the same but… for his sake, I’ll spare you the details. It’s not a fun story. _

_So, that’s how I became a Hunter. Or well, how I started on the path. I’m still in training, really. Woojin says there’s not really a training period for Hunter’s, you just jump into the field and hope you don’t die, but they’ve both been helping me a lot - Seungmin and Woojin. I don’t know how to tell them it means a lot, having people to rely on after losing my family. I guess I don’t really have to… they of all people would get it, having been through similar things. Oh! Speaking of that, if you find this journal please return it to Kim Woojin. His address and number are listed on the last page. Seungmin said he shoots first and asks questions later, so you should probably call him before you just show up. _

_ Han Jisung -_

* * *

**“You’re gonna have a heart attack someday if you keep eating like that, Sungie.” **

I rolled my eyes at the comment. It’s not like I eat _that_ much fast food, but being on the road as much as I am meant there were only so many options. It was better to keep a low profile and eat at various burger joints than picking the same healthy options every time and the food is just as good as far as I can tell. I’d be more likely to die from a car accident than from a heart attack.

**“What? You want me to eat like a squirrel or something?”** I said after swallowing my last bite, tossing the wrapper into the trash can behind my friend, Seungmin.

**“Well, it would be better for you.”**

I tossed him a glare this time, grabbing the rest of my trash, and crumbling it together before tossing it in the same trash can as before. It was like Seungmin to worry about me the way he was, as if I was a porcelain doll that might shatter if you bumped against it too many times. He wasn’t completely wrong, but I didn’t want him to know that. It would make the brotherly protection hit an all time high and as much as I found comfort in that, I didn’t like worrying him too much. Seungmin would always tell me it hadn’t been my fault that my mom and brother had died, but it was hard for me to feel any other way. I’d been in the house and for whatever reason, I remained alive while the rest of my family had to die and I was the one left to pick up the pieces of my dad. I can’t even talk to my dad most of the time; at first it was because I couldn’t look at him without seeing black eyes and bloodlust, but now it’s just because I can’t bare to look at the constant reminder that my life will never be the same.

It’s easier to hide behind hunting, to go after whatever monster I could find and thankfully there’s plenty to keep me occupied. If it’s not Violent Spirits and Hauntings, it’s Vampire nests all over the country, or Shapeshifters. There was always some kind of monster causing destruction under any rock, even if that rock was just a shot in the dark. Seungmin was pretty good at looking for cases on his own and I'm still so new at the whole thing that I haven’t gone out on a hunt by myself ever - not since I met Seungmin. He said I wasn’t ready for a real hunt on my own, that I had to learn the basics; how to shoot a gun, for one. How to make rock salt casings, what weapons kill what monsters, which monsters can’t be killed, what protects you from certain monsters - there was way more than I ever expected there to be, but I never expected monsters and ghosts to be real either.

Today’s the day I’m going on my first hunt, which is why Seungmin’s being extra protective of me. At least, that’s what I figure. Woojin seemed just as hesitant on letting me go by myself when he’d told us both about the job, but I was insistent on it - I could do this, if they would just let me prove that. I couldn’t understand why both of them seemed to be so worried for my well-being; being a Hunter wasn’t a safe life, no matter how experienced you are. There was always a risk you might not come back from a job and as far as I’m concerned, it was one worth taking.

**“You’re all packed up for the trip, right?”** Seungmin asked me from the chair.

It would’ve been dumb of me not to be. We'd been staying at Woojin’s for a few days, mainly so we could recuperate in a safe place before heading back out onto the road. But now we were headed in two different directions and it was obvious Seungmin was just as uneasy about the separation as I was.

**“I’m pretty sure, yeah. Got a couple Machete’s in the truck, a few shotguns and pistols just to be safe. Y’know, in case I run into something unexpected. Salt, Holy Water, Petrol, Flashlight, First Aid Kit…”** I listed everything off as if it were a grocery list, which it pretty much was. Most Hunting gear you could buy at any convenience store you drove by on the way home.

**“Don’t forget the anti-possession charm. You never know when it’ll come in handy.”**

_Shit_. How could I have forgotten that? It was doubtful I’d run into any spirits while hunting for Vampires, but you could never be too safe. Seungmin seemed to have figured I’d forget it, since he smiled as if it had been _cute_ that I’d almost forgotten a life saving item. Seungmin got up from the chair and headed out of the kitchen, most likely towards the living room. It was where Woojin kept pretty much everything - his computer, all six bookshelves which were stacked full of all sorts of books ranging from literary classics to books on the Occult. He had so many different books and even older scrolls that they didn’t all fit on the shelves, the other half of his collection stacked on each other in corners of the room and some even on his desk. The first time I’d seen the place, I’d thought Woojin was some type of crazy hoarder and… well he was, but he was still pretty cool!

Seungmin was at the desk, rummaging through one of it’s drawers before eventually pulling out a charm necklace. It was simple in design: hanging from a leather string was a circular charm, resembling what most people would call a sun - in the center was the Pentagram, I knew that symbol mostly from my Christian studies, but relearned about it from Seungmin. It was a prominent Pagan symbol. Something about harmony and the elements, I don't remember the specifics. Surrounding the Pentagram was a ring of fire. I learned that fire represented purification. I can remember Woojin or Seungmin explaining to me why the combined symbols protected you from possession, but I can’t remember exactly. I figure as long as I can point a gun and aim correctly, I’ll be okay. I’d always have Seungmin by my side anyways, so if I really need the reminder I can just bother him.

**“Be safe, okay?”** The worry behind Seungmin’s words were clear as day.

**“It’s not like I haven’t hunted Vampires before.” **

**“Yeah, but you had me. You had someone watching your back, making sure you were safe. This time you’re on your own. It’s not as easy as it sounds, trust me.”**

I let out a sigh of frustration. I was technically older than Seungmin, even if only by a few days, but most of the time it felt like _I_ was the younger of us. Seungmin reached his hand out towards mine, opening the my palm and placing the charm in my hand. He used the action to grip my hand, giving it a soft squeeze and tugged at my heartstrings with the action. **“Let me worry, Sungie.” **

It was in that moment when I remembered I hadn’t been the only one of us to lose their older sibling. Seungmin had, too. I dropped the tension in my shoulders, nodding at the him before pulling my hand back and placing the charm around my neck. I held the symbol in my hand for a few moments, eyes eventually grazing over the same symbol that presented itself on Seungmin’s wrist.

**“When I come back,”** I pointed towards the tattoo,** “I wanna get the real deal.”**

Seungmin laughed louder than I had expected him to, which made me cross my arms in protest. **“I’m serious!”**

**"It’s just. You? And a tattoo? You’ll cry like a baby.” **

**“I so will not!” **

**“Well, you’ll just have to prove that when you get back, huh?” **

**“You’re damn right I will!”** I tried to suppress the smile, but eventually I let it appear without much reserve.

Seungmin wanted to double check my supplies after that to make sure I really hadn’t forgotten anything important. I acted like it was an inconvenience, but I was pretty happy to spend a little more time with my friend before heading off. It would be at the very least a week before we saw each other again; Seungmin was headed to Georgetown, Colorado to get rid of a violent spirit and I was headed to New Orleans, Louisiana to hunt a diminished Vampire nest. We’d be thousands of miles apart and while the jobs shouldn’t take too long, neither one of us could predict how long or short it might be before we were back at Woojin’s place to restock and rest. If we’d get to come back at all. The thought left my heart aching in a too familiar way.

**“Just don’t be too obvious about your fake identity. Sometimes you get a little too excited when you talk to officials. And don’t forget to salt the door to the hotel room, just to be safe. And-”**

**“I’ll be _fine_, Minnie.”**

Seungmin sighed in defeat at the nickname, shutting the truck and taking a step back before reaching his hand out, grabbing me by the shirt and pulling me in for a hug. He gripped onto the back of my shirt like he was holding on for life, like he wasn’t gonna see me again. I could feel the lump in my throat, but I swallowed it. He didn’t need to see me cry, too. It would just make him worry even more. I wrapped my arms around Seungmin in response, burying my face into his shoulder, my voice muffled as I spoke. **“Really, I will. I pro-” **

**“Don’t promise something you can’t keep.”**

He was right. I couldn’t promise that I’d come back alive, or even that I’d come back unharmed. It was pretty certain I was gonna get banged up with cuts and bruises, probably even some broken ribs if I was unlucky. It was stupid of me to even attempt to promise it, but it was an old habit I had with my family. I had always promised I was okay to keep them from worrying about me too much, but now I realize it never kept them from worrying. It made them worry more.

We stood there for a couple of minutes just holding onto each other, but eventually Seungmin pulled away, his left hand lingering in my right.

**“Call me if you need anything.” **

_I’ll probably call you just cause I miss you. _

**“Definitely. But, only if I need something.”**

* * *

It was about 3AM when I finally arrived in the city of New Orleans, but even with the late night there were still hundreds of people out roaming the streets. The month had only started, but September brought out everyone for all the Halloween festivities. The streets were already decorated with pumpkins, ghosts, and witches; spiders, bats, and vampires, too. From what I did know about the city, none of it seemed out of the ordinary. New Orleans was known for it’s Witches and dealings with the supernatural, just like Salem, Massachusetts. You didn’t have to be a Hunter to know about that. Still, it was going to be a bit more difficult to find the nest than I’d expected it to be with all these people walking around like Meals on Wheels.

I’d done enough research before heading out to figure out the general location where the remaining Vampire’s in the nest were hiding out. It was Seungmin who’d pointed out one of the older, abandoned plantations, but I would’ve found it on my own eventually. Getting there unnoticed with all these people around was going to be difficult, but thankfully daylight was still a few hours away so there was time for me to set up at the Hotel and get ready. As much as I was ready to get this whole thing over with and head back home safely, I knew I had to take a few days if I was gonna do this right.

Vampire’s worked the same as any other human did except for one thing.

They eat people like you’d eat a Cheeseburger.

That also meant they had the ability to coordinate and plan just as well as anyone else, sometimes even better thanks to their super hearing, speed, and strength. Most Vampire lore is pretty much crap, or that’s how Woojin put it. Apparently, a cross doesn’t repel them and sunlight won’t kill them. A stake to the heart won’t do the trick either. You’ve gotta cut their heads clean off - that’s what the Machete’s are for. I’m sure beating them in the head with a bat or a stick is just as good, but that requires more upper body strength than I’ve been blessed with.

The bloodlust is what makes them so dangerous. Yeah, I know what you’re gonna say - _really, Jisung? The super strength, crazy good hearing and reflexes weren’t enough to make them bad news?_ \- but hear me out! A Vampire’s bloodlust takes it all to a whole other level. They’re pretty much primal creatures, acting completely on instinct and desire rather than goals. Human’s have their vices, no debate there, but Vampire’s have to kill to survive. That kind of drive is enough to make anyone with super strength and speed ten times scarier than normal.

The motel was only a few minutes up the road from the entrance into the city, so it didn’t take long to get there once I made my way through the massive amounts of people clogging up the streets. Everyone seemed pretty annoyed that I was interrupting their drunken night of fun, but the streets were made for driving. It was nearing 4AM as I drove into the parking lot of the motel, but the ‘L’ on the sign didn’t have working lights so it just read ‘Mote’. It was probably the first thing that had made me laugh out loud since leaving Seungmin back in Canyon Lake - that’s where Woojin’s place is; Canyon Lake, Texas.

I reached over the center console to pull open the glove box, pulling out the metal box with the various IDs and fake credit cards Seungmin had helped me put together, grabbing one of each at random and putting them in my pocket before tossing it back in. That was one of the biggest things about being a Hunter - you had to fake your identity to get into most places, use random credit cards to make sure your financials couldn’t be traced back to your real identity. A lot of the time, we have to pretend to be law enforcement or medical officials to get into private areas so we can figure out what monsters we’re hunting. It doesn’t always have to be something serious like that, but that’s usually the best way to get into a morgue to check out a body. It’s pretty much the only way, short of breaking in. Seungmin says I’d make too much noise trying to break in, so he taught me how to fake being a police officer instead. It wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be, but sometimes I still get kinda nervous.

I shut the glove box after that, reaching behind the passenger seat to grab the bag of clothes I’d packed and pulled us both out of the car, locking the doors before shutting them and heading my way into the motel. It looked like you’d expect any motel to look - half falling apart, half presentable, outdated magazines in the lobby. I held onto the left strap of my bag as a sense of safety as I walked up to the desk. I’m not really sure what I was expecting to happen. It wasn’t like the guy at the desk was gonna throw a weapon at me or try to shoot me, and even if he did what the hell was my $10 Wal-Mart backpack gonna do? Maybe the plastic buckles would pinch him and distract him long enough for me to make a break for it.

He was completely engrossed in whatever app he was playing on his phone - it looked like PubG from what I could see of it - so I figured I had to speak to alert his attention. I cleared my throat, which really only caused him to jump in his chair. He held the phone in his hand even when he looked up to see who had just made his soul jump out of his body, his expression-less face not changing much once he locked eyes with me.

I flashed as innocent of a smile as I could. **“One room please.” **

I pulled the ID and the credit card from out of my back pocket, sliding it towards him across the counter and waited for my luck to run out. He took one look at the ID, grunted, and then started clicking at his computer. He didn’t seem to care that I didn’t look like I was twenty-four. He just looked at the ID as if it were invisible and then tossed it back in my direction before swiping the credit card. I really hoped it would go like that every time because I didn’t want to think about what might happen if he questioned my age. He handed me back the credit card along with the room key, which read D-9, and the WiFi password, going back to the app on his phone when he was finished speaking to me.

Sometimes, it really paid to be invisible.

I took that as my cue to head towards the room, but it did take me a few minutes to find the right direction to go in. Eventually, I noticed the signs on the walls and felt like a complete idiot for the two minutes it took to walk all the way to the other side of the building before finally seeing the dingy ‘D-9’ white lettering on the firetruck red colored door.

Motel’s really did have the ugliest designs.

It wasn’t any better on the inside; the walls were covered in this paisley brown wallpaper with brown carpeting to match, but nothing else in the room matched that color theme. The bed sheets were a pale blue and white while the one armchair in the corner was dark green, kind of like the color of spinach. The whole room gave me the worst desire to watch six hours of Home Improvement reruns just so I could remember that not everyone designed their rooms like that. I must’ve been pretty tired from the drive because once I dropped my bag on the floor and kicked my shoes off, I hit the bed and didn’t wake up until the outdated clock on the bedside table read 12:00 PM.

It would be another eight hours before the sun started to set and the remaining Vampire’s would come out of their nest again. If I was going to take them all out by surprise, it was going to have to be in the middle of the day when they least expected it and when they were more vulnerable. Like I said before, sunlight doesn’t kill Vampire’s but it still bothers the hell out of them and most of them are pretty sensitive to light. Get one out in the open and it was pretty easy to subdue them with some Dead Man’s Blood - yes, literally a dead man’s blood.

After that, they’d be as good as dead. Quick and easy. Maybe not very clean, but nothing was ever clean about Vampires. I got up and showered, changed into some clean clothes and went down the street to get something to eat - one of the local burger joints - and that was when I started making my timeline. Seungmin helped me figure out a lot of the tiny details, but I already had most of the information figured out before hitting the road.

I was hunting the last descendants of the Ambrosia clan. They’ve been around since the time of Ancient Greece, surviving even after the fall of Greece and the Roman Empire, too. They’re pretty much lived through every major world disaster that you can think of and a few Hunter’s think they’re the main reason Rome fell in the first place. I don’t really have much of an opinion on that, but I do know they were pretty vicious at the height of their power. Most Vampire nests don’t get much bigger than eight to ten Vamp’s at once, with one male Vampire leading the group.

The Ambrosia were different.

They were basically like their own mini-government. In the 14th Century, most records say they had an estimated three hundred members all over the world. They would separate into smaller nests and travel all over the world, turning more humans to their clan in an effort to - you guessed it - take over the world. Safe to say, it didn’t pan out quite the way they wanted it to. Only six of them were left and they were hiding out in the Bayou just outside of New Orleans, which proved just how desperate they were. If you do any research on New Orleans, you know that the Bayou is where the Werewolves make their camps. So, if these Vamp’s were willing to risk a terf-war just to hide away from any Hunter’s, then they were on the verge of giving up. Taking them out shouldn’t be difficult, at least I hoped it wouldn’t be.

Dario was the one leading what was left of the clan and he was the oldest of them, a good six thousand years old by now. Killing him wouldn’t be easy, but if I didn’t he’d just go on to make more Vampire’s eventually. The older ones were harder to kill and they recovered more quickly, too. And the thousands of years of experience helped, too. My plan was to shatter the windows and hope that brought in sunlight to weaken them enough for me to kill the rest of them before they knew what hit them. That was the plan. Whether it worked out the way I wanted it to or not, that was up for debate. My plans have a bad habit of not always working out.

I didn’t really have much of a choice, though.

* * *

Time passed by quickly and by the time I’d finished coating all the bullets in Dead Man’s Blood for my Winchester 1897, it was almost 5AM. I had about two hours left until sunrise and it took about half an hour to get to the last road before I had to walk the rest of the way to the plantation. I remembered wondering how there wasn’t a road that led straight to the plantation, but Woojin told me it was better I walked there on foot instead of alerting the entire nest that I’d arrived to kill them.

He was probably right.

Driving through the streets wasn’t nearly as difficult as it had been the night before, so it was a pretty smooth drive all the way there; I was happier for it. Vampires weren’t the only monsters in New Orleans. I already mentioned the Werewolves, but there were Witches, too. Sure, they were technically human, but there were plenty that used Black Magic and caused harm to others. Course, we couldn’t go around killing anyone that said they were a Witch or we suspected were a Witch. Hunter’s have a pretty clear code - if it’s killing innocent people, kill it. Otherwise, we tend to let some of the more harmless monsters be on their way. Not every Hunter abides by that unspoken law, but most of us do.

Eventually, I hit the end of the road and that meant I had a nice walk ahead of me. It would be another twenty minutes before I reached the plantation grounds, so that gave me plenty of time to run through my plan sixty more times over in my head. You know, just to make sure I remembered everything. Most of my surroundings were grass, trees, more grass. I saw a rabbit about halfway through my walk, but it was just me out there otherwise. The silence was a little too silent, if you know what I mean. I could feel something bad was about to happen, like something was gonna jump out at me. Or maybe I was just gonna trip and fall into a rabbit hole. Actually, nevermind. I shouldn’t jinx myself. I didn’t need a sprained ankle.

Of course, by saying I shouldn’t jinx myself I did jinx myself. Before I could react, something was jammed right into my arm and I recognized the pain almost immediately.

A knife.

Thankfully, I still had my hands on the shotgun, so I whirled it around and pointed it in the direction where the knife had come from only to be met with the face of a girl that couldn’t have been much older than me. She looked human, too, and I knew that Vampire’s mostly looked human until they were feeding on you, but I couldn’t just shoot a random girl even if she had stabbed me in the arm. I didn’t get the chance to do anything before she lunged forward at me and all I heard after that was the sound of a gunshot. Blood splattered over my shirt and the girl, now with a bullet lodged in her brain, tumbled down to the ground. She wasn’t dead, but clearly she was in pain. So, she was definitely a vampire. Only a bullet with Dead Man’s Blood would’ve hurt a vampire like that and it wasn’t until I made that connection that I finally looked up at whoever it was that had shot her.

My brain pretty much short-circuited at that point. I’m not saying that the guy was anything super special, but he was still pretty striking even if he was shorter than me. His hair was jet black and most of it covered his eyes. It was sticking out all in different directions like he hadn’t brushed his hair in weeks, but his clothes looked pretty clean considering we were out in the Bayou. What was really striking about him were his eyes, or what you could see of them. It was like staring into the bottom of the ocean - black, bottomless.

Like he was dead inside.

The Vampire beside me was still struggling to get up, clawing at the bullet inside her head as if she was trying to pull it out of her skull. She probably would’ve been able to if she’d been left alone, but the other guy had different plans. He kicked her back down to the ground, pulled a sword - a Katana? - from his side, and sliced her head off in one swift movement. I didn’t realize until then, but I had somehow hit the ground and was now sitting next to a headless Vampire. I looked back up at the stranger, not really knowing what else to say except for one thing.

**“Thanks. You saved my life, I think.” **

He didn’t even roll his eyes. He just stared straight at me before insulting me. **“Idiot.” **

He still reached his hand out for me, so I didn’t hesitate to take it and pull myself up with his help. I probably held onto his hand too long because he gave me a weird look after a few seconds and aggressively pulled his hand out of mine. My mouth was pretty much speaking for me. I really hated when it did that.

**“Jisung. That’s my name.”**

Again, he just stood there and stared at me. Did I have something on my face?

**“Changbin.”**

And then he just walked away.

I stood there for a couple of seconds, a little dumbfounded to be honest. Most people were a little bit more friendly, even Hunter’s. This guy was colder than any Hunter I’d ever met. I turned my head towards the direction he’d walked off to, realizing that he was headed straight for the plantation. I could’ve probably handled them by myself and he definitely could’ve, but two of us would make the job even easier, right?

I started running after him, shouting to get his attention. **“Hey! Seriously, wait up!”**

For a guy that short, he was a fast walker. My shouting must have annoyed him at some point because eventually he turned around and walked towards me this time, grabbing me by the collar and putting a hand over my mouth. I didn’t think I was _that_ annoying.

** “What are you, a rookie? If you keep screaming like that, you’ll wake up the rest of them.” **

He had a point. I hardly ever saw other Hunter’s out on jobs that I got lost in the moment. Even with Seungmin, it had always been just the two of us. I’d never actually seen another Hunter in person, other than Woojin, but he didn’t really count. They talked about other’s, but this was the first one I’d seen myself.

He dropped his hands from my mouth and my collar.

** “Right. Sorry. I just figured it would be easier to kill the rest of them together. Even the odds a little, two against five?”**

He looked at me like he had when I’d said thank you.

Like I was an idiot.

**“No thanks. I don’t do partners.”** Geez, this guy was stubborn.

**“I’m going in there either way. If you didn’t care about me dying, you wouldn’t have saved me back there.” **

That shut him up. He almost looked like he wanted to roll his eyes at me, but I didn’t really know if that was just his usual look or if I had actually gotten him to react to something. He stood there for a few moments before sighing and shaking his head.

**“Fine. Don’t get yourself killed. I don’t have time to babysit.”**


	2. Hush, Hush

Every Hunter is different. They handle monster’s in different manners, work plans out differently - like Seungmin, he prefers planning everything out to the last detail. He has backup plans for his backup plans, checklists for his checklists. That’s how he is with everything. Me? I pretty much wing it most of the time. Woojin hates that I do it; so does Seungmin, but we usually hunt together so if I forget something I always have him to back me up - but I didn’t realize how much of a crutch it was until now. This guy, Changbin, was almost the exact opposite of Seungmin. Minnie was understanding and patient, he didn’t rush his plans. He was gentle, not just with the way he spoke, but the way he worked. Even towards some monster’s, he showed mercy where most Hunters wouldn’t. He saw humanity in even the darkest crevices of the world and it was one of the biggest reasons I admired him as much as I did.

Changbin was completely different.

I didn’t need to know his whole life story to know he’d seen the worst of the world. It was written in his eyes from the way he glared at me and everything around us - as if everything were a potential target, or enemy. It was clear he was only letting me stick around because I  _ might _ prove useful, probably as a shield or target practice. I really hoped that wasn’t the case, but he wasn’t giving me any reason to believe otherwise since every time I glanced at him he looked like he wanted to drive his knife in my skull. 

There wasn’t much to talk about as we made our way quietly up towards the plantation, so we spent most of the walk in absolute silence. He only opened his mouth once we were about a mile away, after pulling me by the arm behind a nearby tree. 

**“How new are you?”**

Now, normally I didn’t have a problem talking about my inexperience, but the way he asked it made me feel uncomfortable. Like he was judging me. 

I crossed my arms.  **“Not ** ** _that_ ** ** new.”**

He raised an eyebrow at me.  **“Alright, then what’s the incantation to exorcise a Demon?”**

Shit. He got me! I must’ve had it written on my face too, because he just scoffed - was that a  _ smile? _ \- and nodded.  **“That’s what I thought. So, let’s ask again. ** ** _How_ ** ** new are you?” ** I didn’t really want to answer him, to be honest. Every word he said came out like an insult, every syllable dripping in sarcasm and disdain. This guy hadn’t been kidding when he said he ‘didn’t do partners’. At this point, I couldn’t do anything else but be honest.

**“Eight months.” ** I said, exasperatingly. 

His eyes went wide at my words and his free hand went straight against his forehead. 

**“Eight months and trying to take out one of the oldest Vampire clans left.” ** He shook his head, sighing before looking back up at me, handing me one of the extra knives he had attached to his belt.  **“You’re bold, I’ll give you that. They might be small in numbers, but they’re still strong so I’ll take whatever help you can give me, even if it’s not a lot.”**

**“Hey!”**

**“Just don’t get yourself killed. I’m not really a fan of having a kid’s death on my conscious.”** He was calling  _ me _ a kid? He couldn’t have been that much older than me!

In the half hour that I had met Changbin, he’d called me an idiot, acted like he wanted to shoot me, and basically said I was only worth being his shield. I had no way of knowing if he would actually watch my back once we got into the nest and that was the most nerve-wracking thing of the whole situation. I could handle insults and back-handed compliments. I could handle being disliked or him thinking I was annoying, but if I couldn’t trust him to watch my back then it was like walking into a fight with a broken leg. I would already be at a big disadvantage since this guy was clearly used to being on his own, meanwhile I couldn’t figure out how to order food at the McDonald’s if Seungmin didn’t hold my hand through it.

But, I couldn’t just leave. I had to see this through.  **“I won’t.”**

That seemed to satisfy him. He’d started reloading his shotgun as I spoke, only looking back up at me once he was finished.  **“One more thing. The Alpha is mine to kill.”**

The world went deathly silent when he spoke. It was enough to chill me to the bone and I wanted to ask why he seemed so intent on it being  _ him _ , but my mouth felt dry as his eyes stared at me. It was more than just blood-lust in his eyes - it was revenge. I knew enough about that feeling to know better than to get in the way, so all I did was nod my head.

**“Then get ready, cause they’re not gonna make it easy.”**

I had so many questions running through my mind that I wanted to ask him, but the guy went faster than my brain could keep up with. One minute he was in front of me with a loaded shotgun and the next he was halfway towards the front door of the plantation, not even bothering to look back to make sure I was following behind. Hopefully, I’d get the chance to ask him later, but for once I was feeling pretty pessimistic about the prospect.

* * *

Death was a lot messier than I expected it to be. It’s not that I expected it to be  _ clean _ , but it was a completely different experience being there in person from watching it on television. There was something disconcerting about being covered in someone’s blood, even if they were a monster and ate people. The nest hadn’t taken as long to clear out as I had expected, but I did have an extra hand helping me. Well, he did most of the work, but I pulled my weight in my own way. So what if I tripped over my own shoelace mid-machete swing? I still managed to kill the vamp and that’s what mattered at the end of the day. There hadn’t been as many vamps left over as I had been told about, which was a relief. We’d caught them off guard by coming in the middle of the day and I really didn’t know why they’d let themselves get killed off so easily. You’d think after hundreds of years running from Hunters, they’d be pros at avoiding us and expecting us to ambush them. It was a moot point now; all there was left to do was kill the Alpha. 

Well.  _ Changbin _ had to kill the Alpha. 

There wasn’t any way I would be able to get between them, even if I had wanted to. Changbin had the guy bleeding out on the ground, his back to a wall and three Dead Man’s Blood bullets lodged straight into his head. The crazy thing was the vamp was still able to have a whole conversation; he was wide awake despite having three bullets in his brain. Even if he  _ was _ dead, he should’ve been in such excruciating pain he couldn’t even hold a straight conversation or sit up straight - but he was acting like it was nothing, like he’d experienced far worse pains in his life than this.

I kept my distance just enough to give them space, but not so far away that I couldn’t jump in and help Changbin if he needed me to - not that he would, but it was good to be prepared. I kept my hand on my shotgun as I watched the scene in front of me, hoping more than anything he would just get this over with as soon as possible. Changbin seemed to have a completely different idea because he’d been standing in front of the leader for a few minutes now, the barrel of his shotgun pressed flat against the Alpha’s head and his finger around the trigger - except he wouldn’t pull it. In that moment, I remembered the cold feeling his eyes had given me before and the revenge that had been radiating from his glare. Clearly, he wanted to make this last for as long as he wanted, either because he wanted the vamp to suffer or he wanted to enjoy it. Probably both. 

There were a few more moments of silence in the room - it looked like had been used as study before the building had begun deteriorating - before I could hear the Alpha’s words, faint and rugged thanks to the blood trailing from his mouth and the wounds in his head. 

**“I see you’re gonna drag this out, make it worth it.”**

Changbin didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t even react to the words the vampire was saying, he just kept his eyes glued to where his gun was pressed, hand tightening around the trigger. 

**“Fourteen years. That’s how long I’ve been waiting for this. So yeah, you bet your ass I’m gonna drag it out. I’ll put twelve more rounds into your skull before I decide to kill you. It’s the least of what you deserve.”**

The Alpha scoffed at the boy, spitting blood out from the side of his mouth.  **“Still sore about dear ol’ mummy, are we? I thought I told you to get over it, kid.”**

That made Changbin snap out of his confident stance. He hit the Alpha against the head with the barrel of the gun, before positioning it right back onto his forehead, pressing more deeply into his skin. 

**“Don’t you ** ** _ever_ ** ** talk about my mother.”**

I could feel the venom in his tone; it was dripping from his mouth, seeping into every inch of the room and flooding the entire building with the aura of revenge. It was clear why Changbin had been so intent on being the one to kill the Alpha and why he was so intense about this specific hunt. I’d just assumed that’s how he was, but hearing the way they were talking changed my mind entirely. This Alpha had done something to Changbin’s mother - killed her, helped kill her, turned her, whatever. The specifics didn’t matter, not to me and definitely not to Changbin. Still, there was no way we could just sit here and drag this on forever - he  _ had _ to have known that, right? I kept my distance from them, standing on the opposite side of the room, waiting for him to just pull the trigger, but he wouldn’t. He just stood there, biding his time, waiting for the right moment to end it all.

I knew I shouldn’t say anything. It wasn’t my place to make any comments, not really, but I was here to do a job. He was just here for revenge and as much as I understood how that felt, the job was always more important. My grip around my machete tightened as I took a few careful steps forward, looking in Changbin’s direction.

**“We don’t have time for this. Those bullets won’t keep him down forever.”**

Changbin’s eyes didn’t leave the Alpha.  **“Stay out of this. This is between me and him.”**

That’s when I snapped. Sort of.

**“Okay, dude, what the hell? I get you’ve got some weird revenge scheme going on here, but that-” ** I pointed towards the Alpha with the edge of my blade,  **“- is an Alpha. You don’t play around with them like toys. This isn’t a game! And I for one am not in the business of dying before I’m twenty-one.” **

**“Shut up. You have no ide-”**

I cut him off again.  **“No, ** ** _you_ ** ** shut up! If you’re not going to kill him, then ** ** _I_ ** ** will.”**

I don’t know what came over me then, confidence, or impulsiveness, but I moved towards the two of them and raised my machete to end things for good. I could hear Changbin’s protesting from behind me, but he didn’t move from his stance, probably because he didn’t think I’d actually do it - but I was done playing games. The moment went by so quickly; one second I was raising the machete above my arm and the next, the head of the Alpha was tumbling across the floor right past my feet.

The next thing I knew, my back was hitting the ground and Changbin’s hands were balled into fists, holding me against the floor by my shirt. 

**“I told you I had him!”** He was more than pissed. He was  _ furious _ ; but I had had enough of his bullshit. 

I shook my head at him,  **“no, you didn’t! Otherwise, you would’ve just killed him instead of taunting him like he was a damn cat toy!”**

**“I had everything under control, you had no right t-”**

**“No right?” ** I took that moment to catch him off guard. Using my knee, I kicked upwards into his stomach which loosened his grip on my shirt, allowing me to push him off. The minute he got himself steadied, he had his gun pointed straight at me.

Man, this was  _ really _ not my day.

A breath escaped my lips, mostly out of exhaustion from the fight, but the whole situation had me pretty worn out in general. I raised my hands in defeat, dropping my machete to the side of me.  **“Look…” ** I didn’t know if explaining myself was going to get through to him, or save my skin, but it was better than nothing.

**“I had to look out for myself. You don’t trust me, I get that, but I don’t trust you either. And I get it, you’ve got some baggage attached to the job. We all do. But, you don’t let it get in the way of the job. That’s how you get people killed, how you get yourself killed, and since you said you didn’t want my death on your conscience… well, I guess I did you a favor, didn’t I?”**

Changbin didn’t say anything. He just stared at the head of the Alpha while sitting on the ground, gun still in his hand. I could swear he was just planning the right way to get rid of me or kill me once he lifted the gun up, but he just turned the safety on and placed it behind his back once he stood up. He walked towards me then, extending out his hand once he reached a few steps in front of me.  **“You’re right.”**

I hesitated in grabbing his hand, but ultimately let my own slide into his and let him help me up. His hand was small, but rough and calloused; probably from all the times he’d held a gun or fought with his katana. It felt strange against my own hands, which might’ve been bigger but were softer, almost untouched besides the callus from writing. It was just another reminder of how different we were from each other, how much more experienced he was than me. I must’ve been lost in the feeling of his hand because I hadn’t been paying attention when my feet had fully flattened against the ground and before I knew it, the balance I thought I had disappeared and I was falling head first into his chest.

I barely caught myself, or well I  _ thought _ I had caught myself by gripping his hand more tightly while my other hand reached up for his shoulder, but I realized that there was an added weight against my own waist.

Because Changbin’s hand had gone to my waist to keep me from falling.

Today was  _ really _ not my day.

I could feel my cheeks heat up at our close proximity and the feeling of his hand gripped around me, but he didn’t pull away which just made me more nervous. I pushed myself backwards, pulling my hands away from him and readjusting my shirt in an attempt to shield my face from him. The last thing I needed to deal with was him teasing me over the blush across my face. So what if I got flustered easily, that was totally normal! I just didn’t want to hear anymore bullshit from him today, or ever. I honestly didn’t expect him to ever want to see me again.

**“Sorry.”**

The apology caught me off guard. I looked up at him, cocking my head to the side in confusion.  **“What for?”**

**“Putting your life in danger. I never intended for that to happen. I guess I just got… carried away.”**

I could see the guilt in his eyes, almost as strongly as I’d seen the revenge just an hour before. This guy was certainly more multilayered than I’d given him credit for. I shook my head, smiling softly for the first time since I’d met Changbin.  **“It happens. And I’m okay, right? So, no harm no foul.”**

Changbin’s face seemed to light up at my words and I felt my stomach tighten at the sight of his reciprocating smile. It was faint and it was obvious he was trying to hide it, but it was there and… well, it was cute. 

**“Right… Well, uh. It was nice meeting you.”**

Changbin seemed content with ending things there, which didn’t surprise me given what limited knowledge I had of him. He gave me a soft nod of his head and started walking past me, towards the front door to make his final exit and that would be the last I would ever see of him, more than likely. I had no reason to want to continue whatever weird relationship it was we had created in our short time killing vampire’s together. He’d given me nothing to insinuate that he wanted to be my friend, or even see me again. There should’ve been nothing tugging at my gut, nothing telling me to turn around and grab his attention before it was too late. I didn’t have a name for it, or even any understanding of why I felt the way I did.

All I knew was I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

I turned around, calling out towards him just in time before he’d walked out the door. 

**“Are you hungry? I bet you’re hungry.”** I honestly wanted to behead myself right there on the spot. Changbin turned around to face me and once he did, I immediately wanted to jump into the nearest lake and drown myself. The smirk that was plastered on his face made my own feel hot and my stomach turned inside out. He just raised an eyebrow at me, waiting for me to say something else. I was just praying for a vampire to come out of the shadows and eat me instead.

**“I just mean. Hunting works up an appetite and that if you’re hungry, then that’s good… because uh, I’m also hungry. So then we could maybe fix that… uh, together?”**

Changbin stared at me for a moment and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking about. He had a grin on his face, so did he think I was stupid? Was he laughing at me? I’d gone and made an actual idiot of myself in front of a guy that had sandpaper for hands and smelled like corpses - and I was  _ embarrassed _ about it. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I so nervous? It wasn’t like he was going to give me the time of day to begin with. I was used to making a fool of myself in front of random strangers, this wasn’t any different from a normal day. So what if the random stranger was also incredibly attractive and had my brain doing somersaults every time he smiled at me, it didn’t mean anything.

**“Sure. I’m dying for a burger, anyways.”**

So maybe it mattered just a bit. 

It turned out his car had broken down a few miles west outside of the city, so he would’ve needed a ride from me either way. Getting him to admit that was a workout, but eventually he admitted defeat. We went back to his car first, hoping to try and fix it up, but the engine was too damaged for me to do anything, or even to try and jump start his car. Since there wasn’t anything else we could do, we ended up loading all his stuff into my car and just went ahead towards the closest burger place. I wouldn’t have expected him to have been as talkative as he was given how terrifying he’d been before, but now that we were out of immediate danger, it was like he was a completely different person. It was comforting to know he wasn’t always on edge, or hard to talk to. It made the prospect of spending time with him over a meal all the more exciting. The more he talked and the more he smiled, the less nervous and scared I felt being in his presence. It was hard to believe someone so dangerous and haunting could be this… warm and safe. 

That was how I ended up driving all the way back to Woojin’s with Changbin by my side, who he apparently already knew. It wasn’t surprising, since Woojin basically knew everyone, but it felt more comfortable bringing him with me. He was an unlikely partner to have; he argued with the music I played in the car, he was a backseat driver the entire time, he kept making fun of me for driving with both hands on the wheel. I loved every minute of it. Every time he argued with me, it just cemented my interest in him even more than before. I had no way of knowing if he was aware of how infatuated I already was with him, but it would’ve been better for me if he never did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow this is way later than i planned!  
so sorry for keeping you all waiting on this chapter, but i hope it was worth it? there's a little bit of flirtation there at the end to keep everyone gushing until i get the next chapter up.  
hopefully i won't take as long for chapter 3, but i do work two jobs 6 days a week so pls be patient with me TT  
pls leave kudos and comments letting me know what you think of everything so far and don't be afraid to send me stuff on my twitter account too!! i love reading everything <3  
also!! i know i wasn't active when everything hit recently, i just want to reassure everyone that woojin will always have a place in my fics and that he'll remain in this one. i would never think of removing him. he'll always be part of skz, both in fics and irl. 
> 
> twt: @skzyeol


	3. Good Night

**“Wait, you have a ** ** _codename_ ** **?”** Changbin nodded at the question accompanied by a gentle smile, almost as if he was genuinely warmed by my shock. The idea of Hunter’s having codenames wasn’t exactly an out-of-the-box idea, but it still hadn’t crossed my mind - then again, a lot of things didn’t cross my mind. 

He hummed for a few moments, eyes fluttering back towards the street as we drove into Canyon Lake’s city limits. 

**“Technically. I thought it was stupid at first, but now it’s kinda grown on me.” **Of course he’d thought it was stupid. Only someone like Changbin would think codenames are stupid. I felt like I sunk into the driver’s seat at his words, a red tint staining my cheeks as I attempted to keep my blush hidden from him.

**“I don’t think they’re ** ** _that_ ** ** stupid. SpearB makes you sound cooler than you actually are.” **

He laughed out loud at that, which made me blush more than I already was. God, I hated him and his stupidly cute laugh. We spent the rest of the ride to Woojin’s place coming up with codenames I could potentially use if I ever wanted to, which… I kind of did, but picking one was impossible when someone as disgustingly cute as Changbin was the one sounding them off; they all sounded amazing coming from him, so I decided to pick one after some thought and time alone away from Changbin’s stupidly cute face. I didn’t like how much he’d grown on me in such a short time considering how rough our first interaction was, but it was like the roughness was growing on me. I could already hear Seungmin’s mocking voice in my head, how it was just like me to start liking some edgy guy I knew nothing about.

Wait, no. I don’t like him. He’s just cool is all. That’s all it is.

Changbin had decided to get behind the wheel for the last few hours of the drive (something about how I drove like a blind ahjumma) which had given me enough time to doze off for most of the trip back. He must’ve been a fairly good driver because I didn’t wake up until he shook my shoulder sometime in the early morning.

**“Hey, sleepy head. We’re here.”**

I didn’t comment on his usage of ‘sleepy head’, partly because I was too tired to say something clever or witty, but mostly because the moment I opened my eyes, the full view of Seungmin’s car registered in my brain and everything else seemed to fade into background noise. It hit me in that moment that it had been over a week since I’d seen Seungmin or even heard his voice.

I found my heart aching to see him more than I ever had before. 

My hand was already on the door handle before Changbin even stopped the car and once I felt the car slow down, I didn’t hesitate to open the door and step out onto the ground even before the car had made a complete stop. I could hear Changbin talking to me in the background, but his voice was muffled. All I could focus on was seeing Seungmin, hugging him, hearing his heartbeat - nothing else mattered except that.

It didn’t take long before I saw him around the corner of the house and my body took over, propelling me into a sprint as I ran towards him. Seungmin turned around just in time for me to wrap my arms around his waist, my face fitting almost too perfectly in the crook of his neck, as if our bodies were made to be like this. 

**“Whoa! Did you miss me, Sungie?”**

I responded by hugging him tighter, which earned a soft noise that came with a sigh as he returned the hug, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. **“I miss you, too. I was starting to get worried, actually. You hadn’t called or anything, so I assumed you were okay, but still…”**

**“Shit! Minnie, I’m so sorry. I just got distracted and-”**

**“It’s okay! I’m not mad, dork. I was just worried is all.”**

Woojin came from around the corner, I assume heading back from the car lot he had behind the house, and it felt almost as good to see him as it did Seungmin. He gave me a quick smile before coming up beside me, untangling me from Seung so I could properly give him a hug. 

**“Had us scared half to death, Kid.”**

**“** ** _Wooj!” _ **I groaned every time he called me kid.

**“You prefer I called you idiot?”**

**“Anything is better than kid!”**

He laughed at that and suddenly my world felt right again. I’d come home in one piece, for the post part, and now things could go back to normal. Woojin probably already had a few hunts ready for Seungmin and I to check out and I really couldn’t wait to get back out on the road with my best friend. I almost felt bad for forgetting about him because of Changbin- 

**“Oh, shit! Changbin!”** I’d forgotten about him, too. God, I sucked. By the looks of Seungmin’s face, he didn’t know who I was talking about but Woojin’s interest was clearly peaked.

**“How do you know Changbin, Jisung?”**

**“Uh…”** I didn’t really know how to explain it without going too much into detail, which I didn’t think anyone really wanted to listen to. I sorta get carried away with explaining things or telling stories, like reenacting things and using voices for other people. Seungmin says it’s cute, but I can tell it gets on Woojin’s nerves. At least it feels that way, but I think I get on everyone’s nerves aside from Seungmin.

Thankfully I didn’t have to do any explaining because both Seungmin and Woojin’s attention shifted from me to something behind me and when I turned around, I saw why. Changbin had finally caught up with me… and his face was _ red _. I couldn’t tell why, or from what. How long had he been standing there? Had we not noticed him? His eyes kept moving back and forth between me and Seungmin, then to my hand in Seungmin’s. It was so impossible to read him or even get the tiniest hint of where his head was at. He was like an enigma wrapped in a mystery locked in a box and I hated every second of it.

I felt awkward holding onto Seungmin’s hand with the way he was staring at me, so I slipped it away and shoved my hands in my pockets to cover it up. Changbin’s expression didn’t change and Seungmin’s was almost eerily similar to his. I knew I was missing something, that something had happened between them before I knew either one of them because the look they were giving each other was unmistakable. 

Resentment.

**“You remember the hunt I went on, right? The vampire nest?”** I tried to start explaining if only to get one of them to break eye contact with the other and ease whatever tension existed between the two of them. **“Well, uh. Changbin was also there to kill them. So, we sorta ran into each other.”**

**“He almost got eaten.”**

My eyes widened at Changbin and I wanted so desperately to kick dirt in his face. Seungmin’s expression was exactly what I expected it to be, too - concerned, worried, alarmed. 

**“What?! Jisung, what the hell! We talked about being careful!”**

**“I was ** ** _so _ ** **being careful!”**

Changbin chimed in from the background. **“If I hadn’t stepped in, he’d probably be dead.”**

**“Would you shut up!” **I could tell he was enjoying this, whether it was Seungmin losing his cool or getting me in trouble I couldn’t tell. Maybe it was both. Either way, there was so much he was leaving out and part of that irritated the hell out of me. If I was a shitty person, I would’ve mentioned how he’d lost his temperament and almost gotten us both killed, but despite his rough edges and cruel sense of humor, I still liked the guy. Plus, he didn’t seem like the kind of person that I wanted to be on the bad side of. 

Seungmin sighed while shaking his head and Woojin did what he always did when I did something stupid - slapped me upside the head as he walked back into the house, muttering _ ‘idiot’ _ as he walked away. I hated upsetting them both, but especially Seungmin. He’d sacrificed a lot to keep me safe in the past; sleepless night’s keeping watch so that I could sleep soundly, teaching me how to clean weapons and guns safely without hurting myself or anyone else, hours upon hours of going over safety measures and rules with me, teaching me how to perform CPR. I hated disappointing him or letting him down and for _ once _ I wanted to be exactly how he saw me, instead of the clumsy dumbass that I am. 

I must’ve been wearing my thoughts because I felt Seungmin’s hands rubbing up and down on my arms and when I looked up at him, he was giving me a reassuring smile.

**“Hey, I’m not mad. Well… I’m a little mad, but it’s just because I care about you and worry about you. I just want you to be more careful next time, okay?”**

I nodded my head and soon after, I felt him press a light kiss against my forehead.

**“I love you, Sungie.”**

**“I love you, too.” **He gave me a quick and gentle hug for a moment before pulling back, looking in Changbin’s direction. Seungmin’s expression was different than before, but the disdain was there all the same. If anything, it looked like he had more now. 

**“I suppose I should thank you for keeping Jisung safe. I doubt you did it for his sake, but still… thank you.”**

Changbin didn’t smile or show any semblance of welcoming. He actually looked even more pissed than before. 

**“Like you said. I didn’t do it for his sake.”**

His words really were like venom, or a punch to the gut. The hatred in his voice hit me hard enough to nearly knock the gentleness from the kiss that still lingered against my forehead. He walked away before either of us could say anything else and the situation left me feeling like I’d done something wrong. Had I?

**“Don’t take it personal, Sungie.”** Seungmin had already averted his gaze back to me while mine still remained on Changbin’s back as he skulked away. Somehow I managed to pull myself away to look at Seungmin as he took my hand back into his own. **“Changbin’s really not a bad guy. I may not like how he acts sometimes, but he’s got a good heart.”**

**“Could’ve fooled me.” **His smile faded a bit at my words.

He pulled my hand and took a few steps backwards towards the car lot behind Woojin’s place, signaling me to follow him and I did so without hesitation. I never questioned things when it came to Seungmin. It was more than just me trusting him. He was a part of me in a way that no one else ever had been, so much so that I couldn’t imagine disagreeing with him or not trusting him in any situation. He knew me as well as I knew myself and he wasn’t afraid to call me out on my bullshit, keep me safe from my own stupidity. He told me things I didn’t always want to hear and it was yet another one of the many reasons I loved and admired him as much as I did. 

He waited until we were farther away from the house before continuing our conversation from before, keeping his hand in mine as we walked through rows and rows of busted up and rusted old cars.

**“The thing you have to understand about Changbin is he doesn’t do people.”**

**“Yeah, yeah. He already gave me his ‘I don’t play well with others’ speech.”**

Seungmin shook his head,** “Sungie, you don’t get it. It’s not that he can’t play well with others, he chooses not to.”**

**“But why? I know you said some Hunter’s like doing the job alone, but he’s just so… aggressive about it.”**

Seungmin sighed and I could tell he was unsure if he should say anything next, that he might be crossing a line by saying too much. Seungmin was like that; he was overly cautious about other people’s business and feelings. He never wanted to overstep boundaries or push someone too far even if he didn’t like them all that much.

**“I’ll tell you why, but you have to swear to me you won’t say anything about it. He doesn’t like people knowing about it.”**

**“Somehow that doesn’t shock me in the slightest.”**

He halted his steps after a few moments, his hand finally slipping out of my own and into his pockets, which prompted me to do the same. His face contorted a bit as he stood there for another moment and I could tell he was trying to figure out how he wanted to say it. I had no way of knowing what could’ve possibly happened to Changbin that had made him the way he was, but by the looks of Seungmin’s face… it couldn’t have been good.

After a moment, he sighed.

**“Changbin used to have a partner, or well… I guess it was more like what we have. They were close friends and I mean ** ** _close._ ** **” **I felt like he was trying to hint at something with the way he said close, but I was too hung up on the fact that Changbin had ever had any friends to begin with. 

**“So, a few years ago, Changbin gets wind that some of the Ambrosia clan, the clan of vamps you went to take out, are hiding out in this old warehouse out all the way in some tiny Wisconsin town. Everyone knows how Changbin is about that clan. They killed his entire family.”**

So _ that _ was why he was so hellbent on being the one to kill the Alpha. 

Seungmin continued, **“see, his dad went sort of crazy after they killed his wife, so he trained both his sons to hunt so they could avenge her. I guess after that, the clan decided to make an example out of his family and just killed them off every few years until it was just Changbin. Well, you can probably guess how well that scenario went down.”**

** _“_ ** **Not well, I’m guessing.” **It was only partly a joke on my part. I had already witnessed first hand how out of control he got when it came to that clan.

Seungmin shook his head and I could see the conversation was growing more difficult with him as he continued. Instinctively, I pulled a hand out of my pocket and reached out to hold onto his wrist**. **He gave me a soft smile at the gesture

**“He almost died. He got dumped on the side of the road in his car and one of the vamp’s even called Felix, that was his partner, and taunted how he’d ‘killed’ Bin. It was an obvious trick to get more hunters to come out and get themselves killed, but Felix…” **

He closed his eyes and shook his head. **“Lix was just as dumb as Bin, to tell you the truth. And just as self-sacrificing. He summoned a Crossroads Demon and sold his soul to save Changbin’s life.”**

My blood went cold at the word demon. I didn’t know much about the supernatural world, but I knew demons and I knew that you could never trust them. A Crossroads Demon’s entire goal was to trick you into selling your soul away over any little thing without explaining any of the fine print. I couldn’t understand how this Felix guy had just thrown away his entire life knowing that about them.

**“Safe to say Changbin was pissed. Felix didn’t even get the usual 10 year deal. Hell isn’t a big fan of Bin’s family, so they gave Lix one year left to live before taking his soul and sending him downstairs.”**

I didn’t really know what to say. Usually, when you sell your soul to a Crossroads Demon, it buys you 10 years of whatever it is you traded it for - money, love, success. Once the 10 years is up, you get taken to hell and not in a fun way. They send Hellhound’s after you and those aren’t the kind of puppies you want to cuddle. 

**“Bin… he’s never really been the same since. I don’t blame him either. I couldn’t imagine losing you like that.”**

I felt my throat close up at the words and I squeezed his hand even thinking about the idea of him dying. I knew it was always a possibility given our line of work, but it scared me to think I could ever lose him in such a brutal way. I didn’t want to give it more thought.

**“You won’t. I promise.”**

He gave me the look he always does when I promise something I can’t keep, but I wasn’t budging on this one. I meant what I had said. I didn’t care if it was unrealistic, I didn’t even want to entertain the idea of that ever being a possibility between us. 

  
  


Changbin decided to stay the night and recover from the fight with the Ambrosia clan against his own wishes. Woojin had convinced him it was the smarter choice since they had to get one of the cars out back working for him before he could leave in the first place, but he still didn’t seem too thrilled about the idea. I could tell it was because of Seungmin and I knew I was still missing something that had happened between them and I still couldn’t figure out what it might’ve been. Worse, Seungmin hadn’t said a word to me about it and that left a bad taste in my mouth. I knew he trusted me with everything, so why didn’t he feel like he could tell me this? Was it that bad? Woojin told me not to worry about it, but really that just worried me more. 

He took one of the spare rooms and shut the door pretty early in the evening, but I was getting used to his cold shoulder now and I was already accustomed to spending my time with Seungmin and Woojin. They were my family and we’d been like this for so long now that nothing and no one would be able to take that away from me. I’d lost too much to lose them for any reason and I wasn’t about to let some short ass, grumpy ass, disgustingly cute ass guy ruin what I had. 

He wasn’t even that cute anyways.

Not _ really _.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short chapter compared to the other two, but I really wanted to get something out! You know what they say, short and sweet can't be beat. I hope everyone enjoys jealous changbin's debut hehe. 
> 
> I'm super busy during the holiday's, so I wanted to give everyone something to hold them over until I can find time to get chapter 4 going!! I'm gonna try to get it out before Christmas as a gift for holiday's and my last update for the year, so keep an eye out!!
> 
> Pls send me messages and questions and stuff here if you have any about the fic!! I love reading everyone's thoughts and ideas ^^ You can also leave me questions on my curiouscat which is linked on my twitter @skzyeol and also my tumblr which is patronsajnt.tumblr.com !!
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading and keeping up with this fic thus far. It means a ton to me and I hope you're enjoying the story so far <3


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